The end of Lost... and other things

I can't believe Lost is over. This season I seriously procrastinated watching the episodes, because I felt like if I watched them at the time they aired, the show would somehow go away quicker. Dumb logic, I know. So I finally finished the series the other night and I'm both happy and sad. Sad because it's over, but so happy that they actually remember being on the island together. I think my biggest fear was that they were all going to just forget each other, and after all they've been through, that would have sucked.

I cried like a baby when Jack died though. It was so sad. Definitely sadder then any of the other deaths on the show. And who else was expecting Richard to just disappear when they were on the plane leaving the island. Well, I thought he would either disappear or would suddenly become some kind of crazy skeleton in his seat. Glad that didn't happen.

Anywho... True Blood season 2 came out, and of course I went right out to buy it. I saw it when it was originally on TV, but that hasn't stopped me from sitting down and watching the episodes one after the other like a big freak. I also have gotten my mom hooked on it. She think the vampires are seriously gross, but watches because it freaks her out so much. Haha. I got the latest Sookie Stackhouse book too, and just haven't had a chance to read it yet. I've been reading Nicholas Sparks, which TOTALLY is NOT my thing normally. But my grandma gave me The Last Song, and I read it just because it was there, and then I wanted to see the movie Dear John, but Sarah told me to read the book first because it's so much better, so now I'm some kind of weirdo Nicholas Sparks fan. I even went out and bought another one of his books because I was told it was really good. I am oddly ashamed of my sudden love for his stories, but oh well. I can't help that he pulls at my heartstrings.

Today I got this weird thing from Netflix that allows me to put a disc into my Wii and play some of the movies in my queue straight from the Wii/internet/TV/whatever. It's pretty nifty, and I can also watch some TV shows. The selection isn't wonderful, but it's pretty good considering that I could watch those streaming movies all day and night, and it won't cost me any extra. Danielle's really excited, because we were just talking about the Witches of Eastwick this morning, and she turned it on and it was one of the first movies to come up. Pretty cool.

I've been falling in love with Lost in Pacific Time all over again, and I've started writing again. Two events that are not-so-related, but really make me feel good.


Oh, BTW, I am so excited about this Peg Connolly Scholarship. I get to go out to Spokanel, WA in September, and while I'm out there I'm going to spend a few extra days and head out to Seattle for the end of the week and into the weekend. I love traveling, and I have always wanted to go out to Washington, so this is the perfect excuse.

Media Review

In the past few weeks I've read a lot of books, seen a lot of movies, and listened to some great music, and every time I think to myself, I really should blog about that, but I just haven't had the time to actually get on here and blog anything lately, so here is review of everything that I've thought that about in the past few weeks:

BOOKS
Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty - This book is the last installment of the Jessica Darling series. It begins three years after the last book left off (after Jessica refused Marcus' proposal of marraige and they broke up), when Jessica and Marcus run into each other at the airport. Well, more like when Jessica runs over Marcus in the airport.

Perfect Fifths is the only book in the series to actually offer any insight into what the hell Marcus Flutie is thinking, as it's told partially from his perspective. The book also strays from the traditional journal entry style to a narrative style, with random bursts of other stylistic experiments. For instance, there is an entire chapter told in Haiku. Unfortunately, I felt like that chapter, style aside, brought nothing to the story. We already knew everything that was expressed in the poems, and I felt like McCafferty just included it in there because she thought, hey, cool. Haiku narrative. And ran with it.

The story, which took place over the course of one day, was sometimes painfully yawn-worthy. I mean, I didn't really need to know every second of the day from each of the character's perspectives. I even found myself wondering what it was about the series that I enjoyed so much in the past. Not to make it sound like it was all bad - it wasn't. I really enjoyed the ending of the story, and I liked hearing things from Marcus' side for the most part (even though it sometimes gave away a huge part of the mystique that made me love him in the first place).

If you've read the series, I would recommend finishing it, of course. But maybe it's just me, or maybe it's the fact that I graduated from high school five years ago, or maybe the fact that I've moved past my Marcus Flutie obsession, but if you haven't started this series and you're looking for a good read, I wouldn't recommend this series anymore. Sorry if I burst anyone's Flutie balloons.

See Jane Write: A Girl's Guide to Writing Chick Lit by Sarah Mlynowski and Farrin Jacobs - So sue me. I'm writing a chick lit book. Actually, I already wrote a story a while back and I'm editing it and changing it when needbe to make it more chick lit-y. Don't roll your eyes and pretend like I'm beneath you for writing chick lit, because we all know that you've read at least one chick lit before. And you know you wish you could write a book (unless your Char whose already written one! Yay Char!)

But yeah, if you're thinking about writing a chick lit or really any kind of book, this guide gives some great things to think about. And as an added bonus, Sarah Mlynowski is my favorite chick lit writer and she's hilarious, so this book is actually really entertaining and fun to read.

The J.A.P. Chronicles by Isabelle Rose - I'm reading this because it was in my sister's book shelf and I randomly picked it up the other night, and also because in the other book I'm reading (aforementioned) they say to read other chick lit books (although not strictly chick lit) to get more of a sense of what constitutes as a chick lit. Admittedly, I'm not really a huge expert on the genre. I've read my share of chick lits, but I usually only indulge sparingly. And even when I do read them, I stay away from the ones that involve excess shopping and label whoring. However, the J.A.P. Chronicles, while it has it's moments of mani-pedi's and spending thousands of dollars on clothes at Borgdorfs, actually has a pretty substancial storyline. Basically it's about a thirty-something girl named Ali who attends a reunion at her childhood camp and sees all the antagonists of her past who used to torture her for being ugly, fat, and unathletic. Now that she's an established film maker, she wants to get back at all the bitchy girls, by being an even bigger bitch and filming a memior about each of their lives since camp and their "defining moment".

Unfortunately, the author writes Ali as a punk/alternative style girl.... and she doesn't know anything about punk style, and instead relies on outdated stereotypes. That's a huge pet peeve of mine, when writers try to write their main character as something that they are not and don't know anything about. And it's sooooooo painstakingly obvious.

MOVIES

Vicky Cristina Barcelona - This movie was so much better then I thought it was going to be. It takes place in Barcelone, when two friends decide to spend the summer there before Cristina gets married, and Vicky moves on with her life. They meet a really hot Spaniard, share a steamy weekend with him, and both become attached and intrigued. What I enjoyed most about this movie was how it outlined the differences in relationships under different types of stress. How does a friendship hold up when both friends like the same guy? How does a relationship hold up when the guy's slept with your best friend? How does a relationship hold up when the guy's ex-wife comes and lives in the same house and you and your guy for a few months? How does a relationship with a fiance change once one of them has screwed around? Etc. It was weird, funny, sexy, and basically a psychologist's wet dream.

Burn After Reading - This was completely different then what I thought it was going to be. In fact, I can't even tell you what I thought this movie was going to be like when I sat down to start watching it. It's by the same guys who did The Big Lebowski, which is hilarious, but for some reason, I didn't realize that Burn After Reading was a comedy. Well, at least it was sort of a comedy. It starts off with John Malkovich's (sp???) character being fired from the CIA, and progresses into how he's going to write a memoir about his time there, resulting in two crazy personal trainers (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand) stealing the skeleton of his novel and holding it for ransom. Some parts, usually the ones involving Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Frances McDormand, were hilarious, while others were somewhat sad and disturbing. I'm still undecided on this movie, and I'm not sure if I would watch it again.

Salem's Lot - I watched the Rob Lowe, made for TV version of Salem's Lot, that was made in the early 2000's. I read the Stephen King book years ago and really only remembered that it was about vampires invading a place called Jerusalem's Lot. Although the beginning was a little bit slow moving (as many made for TV movies tend to be), once it got moving the movie was freakin awesome. I mean, what's better then evil vampires taking over a town and gorgeous Rob Lowe coming to the rescue? James Cromwell (cute old man in Babe) and Donald Sutherland (father of Jack Bauer) co-star. But seriously, who cares about them when Rob Lowe is in the movie?

I'm going to update about music and stuff later. I don't have time to do it justice right now. But just know that it'll be about The Downtown Fiction and Razia's Shadow (by Forgive Durden).

Lost Series Theories 5.6 Plus Media week in review

Let's start with Lost:

A ton happened (I mean they got back to the island), and at the same time I feel like nothing happened. I felt like I waited the entire episode for something great or big to happen and it didn't.  Did the plane crash, or did they just disappear out of it? What happened to Aaron? What happened to Frank Lopides (sp?) and was it a coincidence that he was flying the plane (no, what am I thinking... nothing that happens on this show is a coincidence)? Who was the arab guy on the plane supposed to represent. I know that Hurley was doing the Charlie guitar thing, Sayid was doing the whole Kate in handcuffs, and the police officer was a mix of Kate's police guy and Anna Lucia, but who was the Arab guy and did he and the Anna Lucia girl make it on to the island?

Who thinks that Kate killed Aaron? I don't, but she was really upset about him, at least for like 30 seconds before she decided that she had to have sex with Jack right then and there. I don't know... I don't know what she did with Aaron, but I know whatever it was, she was just trying to keep him safe, so maybe she handed him off to Claire's mommy.

It kinda ticks me off that Sun is so eager to get back to the island. I know that Jin is there, but her child isn't, and she knows that she'll never be able to leave the island. So now she's just ruined their little girl's life.

I think that Locke is going to play a bigger part (no duh...), but I don't know what it is yet. Danielle or my mom, I can't remember which one, said that they think he's going to be like Jack's dad and appear randomly on the island with cryptic little messages for everyone all the time, like a big weirdo.

And my number one theory: Hurley is a dumbass. Seriously... how was he drowning in water that he could stand in? Lol.

Now for the media:

In the Land of Women

This movie had Meg Ryan, Adam Brody and Kristen Stewart.  I actually really liked Adam Brody and Kristen Stewart in it (usually I'm not a huge fan of Stewart, because I think she's one dimensional), but Meg Ryan just wasn't convincing.

The storyline goes like this... a young guy (Brody) gets dumped by his Hollywood girlfriend and decides to move to Michigan to help out his grandma who is pretty out of it (but hilarious), and to get his life in order. Enter the women who live in the house across the street... Ryan plays a mother who is going through a lot of personal drama, and whose own daughter (Stewart) can't stand her. They both have issues, but through friendship with Brody's character, all of them (including Brody) kind of deal with it. 

It was a good movie. I would recommend seeing it, but I just didn't LOVE it. I would never buy it or anything. On a scale of 1-10, I would give it a 6.5.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Ummm.... I thought this movie was going to be more about music. Danielle and I were both disappointed about that. Yes, the objecting was finding Fluffy, a band playing at a secret location in NYC, but other then that, the mention of a few mixed tapes, and the fact that Norah's dad owns a record studio... there was no music.

I do have a little nerdy crush on Michael Cera though. Not like a i-think-he's-so-hot-and-i-want-to-bang-him crush. More like a aw!-isn't-he-cute? crush.  But seriously??? In the movie his ex girlfriend is this really really hot chick! He would never be able to hook up with that chick in real life.

On a scale of 1-10 I give it a 6.5 - I know... I'm boring and rated two movies the same way, but I really couldn't give it a seven.

Oh, and one last thing... the blonde girl who plays the drunk friend, definitely is a Christine (Bandy) look-a-like. I couldn't stop thinking about it the entire movie. (except Christine is prettier)

*****

This hasn't happened yet, but tomorrow night I'm seeing The MLMs again with Rachel at The Khyber on 2nd St. Rob may be coming, as well as mine and Rachel's friends Melissa and Vanessa. I really like seeing The MLMs (this will be the third time), but most of all I really like it because it gives me an excuse to see my friends that I don't see anymore. I never see Rachel or Vanessa (or Devon when she doesn't have track meets), unless we're seeing an MLMs show it seems. And I miss them, and Rachel's going back to NY soon :(

More about that show after I actually go to it I guess.

Media Week in Review

Some stuff I've seen/heard/read lately and want to share/review.

Coraline - This was an amazing movie. I don't see many movies in theatres because I think it's a waste of money to spend $10-$12 of my hard earned dinaro's on something that I could get on my Netflix for $10/month (and I usually get 4-6 movies/month). But seriously, if you haven't seen this yet, which counts out approximately half of my blog readers (Danielle and Emily), then you must see this. In 3-D. If you don't see it in 3-D you're missing out. Not only was the story intriguiging and original, but the visuals were fantastic.

I'm Reed Fish - This is a movie that I bought after seeing it a few months ago on my Netflix. It's an independant flick, but it has Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls) and I love her. Anyway, the story is about a young guy whose parents are both dead, but he has his entire life laid out for him: he's inherited his father's radio news program and all of his parent's stuff, and he has an amazing fiance. He lives in a really small town and everyone knows everyone else's business. One day a girl who he used to have a crush on in high school, returns to the town on summer break from college... and I'm not going to say anything, because it would kinda ruin the movie. It's not really a chick flick, because the main character is a guy and it's all told from a guy's perspective, but it's interesting, and everyone should check it out. Plus, it's based on a true story.

Yesterday I started a book called S. by John Irving. I'll have to let you know how it is when I finish, but it's my train book, so it may be a while. So far it's really good though. It's written all in letters, and it's about a housewife in her fourties who leaves her husband because basically he's a prick. But I'm only about 25 pages in, so we'll see how it goes...

symphonysoldier.com This is the blog of Alex DeLeon a.k.a. "Singer". He's the lead singer from The Cab. If you want to see pretty much the ugliest animated picture of someone ever, you should check it out just to see his header. I love The Cab's music and I don't know much about it's members except their names and little bits that I've heard from other people, but this blog is pretty funny. I love how the blogs of the Fueled By Ramen crew drip with all of their self-important, arrogant bullshit all the time. Don't get me wrong, I love reading the stuff they post, but you can tell just by looking at some of the stuff they write, that they truly thing that they are the coolest, funniest, most clever guys around. Men are so silly. Oh, and if you want to see the UGLIEST band t-shirts ever made, check out the 2/6 post.

Folie a Deux - Fall Out Boy I finally got this CD. I was extremely resistant to getting it, because I really didn't like their last CD, Infinity On High. But it seemed that everywhere I went people were talking about how great it is. And it got excellent reviews in all of the media, so I figured that I would pick it up finally. Anyway, I popped it into my CD player and I had the whole love/hate thing going. In order for me to really love it, I have to pretend that it's not written by Fall Out Boy, because it is so drastically different then their other material. When I remove the band's name from the music, it's actually pretty great. I love dancing to it, and I think that tracks 2, 3, and 4 ("I Don't Care", "She's My Winona", and "America's Sweethearts") is probably one of the best track line-ups I've heard in a long time. When I relize it's FOB materical again, I want to rip my hair out.

A lot of people don't understand this I bet, because I think that most people only know what they've heard on the radio of Fall Out Boy. This probably includes, "This Aint A Scene" and other songs from Inifinity On High, and possibly "I Don't Care" and "America's Sweethearts" from the new CD. If you haven't listened to them from the beginning (not that I've been listening from the beginning, but at least from when their first two CDs came out), you won't hear the changes. I really really love old FOB. In fact, today I had my iPod on shuffle and some old FOB came on and it made me smile to hear the good old stuff that I used to rock out to. But the new stuff is good too. I have to learn how to be more open to change.

But you can hear the changes for yourself. Below I posted a few new FOB songs, and a few old ones.

I Don't Care (*NEW*)


America's Sweethearts (*NEW*) This is only a link, because embedding is disabled on ALL of the YouTube videos, but this is one of the best songs, and the video is really freaky.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc-wM6g-Oio

Saturday (*OLD*) from their first CD Take This To Your Grave


A Little Less '16 Candles', A Little More 'Touch Me' (*OLD*) From their second CD, From Under the Cork Tree. This one is a little bit of a movie. A vampire movie to be exact. You have to go into it a little ways for the actual song. Fellow FBR labelmates, Brendon Urie (Panic at the Disco), Travis McCoy (Gym Class Heroes) and William Beckett (The Academy Is), and Mike Carden (The Academy Is) also star.